Besiktas Confirm Interest In Chelsea FC Striker Demba Ba

Turkish club Besiktas board member Deniz Atalay has confirmed their interest in Chelsea FC striker Demba Ba but acknowledged that a transfer is unlikely due to the fact that Jose Mourinho may yet decide to keep the player on board. Ba has been linked to a host of clubs including fellow Turkish club Fenerbahce but this is the first report linking him to Besiktas.

Deniz Atalay on Besiktas’s interest in Demba Ba:

"“We have been linked with a lot of players but the only player we are interested in right now is Demba Ba. We have made an enquiry for Ba however, Chelsea have not decided whether they want to keep hold of him next season. The rumors linking us with [Samuel] Eto’o, [Bafetimbi] Gomis, [Rafael] Van der Vaart and Aaron Hunt are false. We were interested in Diego Ribas but couldn’t match his €3.5 million wage demands.”"

Demba Ba himself believes that he will not be leaving Chelsea despite only starting six games for the club last season. He believes that his reward for playing well at the end of the season as well for his patience in a tough situation.

Demba Ba on Jose Mourinho asking him to stay at Chelsea:

"“Jose Mourinho has asked me to stay at Chelsea next season. He assured me that my situation wouldn’t change. I see this as my reward from God. I weighed up the pros and cons, and think that I will stay put to see what happens. I don’t know whether my situation will improve, but what with the coach’s offer anything can happen. I want to play a lot of matches and I think that will be the case for me.”"

The striker has more than earned his stay at Chelsea particularly late last season. He proved to Mourinho that he should have been playing more regularly, especially ahead of the struggling Fernando Torres. As for any moves to the Turkish top flight, they appear more and more unlikely but the striker situation at Chelsea may yet hold some surprises.